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Conf  Pam  12mo  #224 


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ANISUAL     MESSAGE 


OF 


GOVERNOR    JOSEPH    E.    RROWN. 


■i 


TO    THE 


GEORGIA      LEGISLATURE, 


ASSEMBLED    .NOVEMBER  3RD,  1864. 


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liOU.JlITOX,  XLSUKT.  BARNES  .'c  MOORK,  _Pjumei: 

MIl.l  KDCEVILi.K,     C.X. 


1861. 


«BJI.'  "!  Uif"«l«wiitniMir 


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MESSAGE. 


EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,     > 

MrLLKDGEVILLE,  Ga.,  NoV.  .'{D,    ISol.  \ 

Senators  and  luprcsontatitrs: 

The  period  for  your  annual  meeting  in  General  Assenibfy 
having  <irrived,  it  affords  nie  great  pleasure  to  welcome  yon 
to  the  Capitol,  and  to  assure  you  of  my  earnest  desire  to 
unite  with  you  harmoniously  and  cordiallv  in  all  praccical 
measures  which  may  promote  the  general  welfiire,  aud  re- 
dound to  the  glory  and  honor  of  our  beloved  State. 

We  are  passing  through  a  trying  ordeal,  having  staked 
upon  the  issues  of  war  all  thftt  can  be  valuable  or  dear  to  a 
people.  If  we  are  subjugated,  we  lose  liome,  proportv, 
liberry,  reputation,  and  all,  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned, 
that  ntakt.'s  life  desirable  or  its  burdens  tolerable. 

Our  enemies  have  repudiated  and   trampled  uiuler  foot 
the  great  principles  of  constitutional  liberiy,  and  have  at- 
tempced  to  rear,  upon  the  ruins  of  our  republican  institti- 
tions,  a  consolidated  empire,  undt'r  tlie   popular  name  of  a 
union  of  the  States.     We  havet^tkch  upar;ns  to  resist  this, 
and  to  maintain  republicanism  in  irs  purity,  with  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  States  and  the  persorijl   rights  and  libertit's 
of  the  people.     No  people  ever  acc<^pted  the  alternativeof 
war  in  a  nobler  cause,  or  exhibited   to  the  world  a  more, 
Bublime  spectacle  of  moral  grandeur  and  heroic  valor.     Our 
gallant  armies  have  won  for  these  States  a  name  which  wilf 
stand  upon  a  bright  page  in  history,  w.'ien  pyramids  have 
decayed,  and  marble  monuments  have  crumbled  into  dust. 
It  should  be  the  pleasure  of  the  jiatrioo  and  pride  of  the 
hero  to  contribute  his  property,  his  energies,  and,  if  neeil 
be,  his  life,  for  the  success  of  so  noble  a  cause,     Upon  our 
success  depends  the  last  hope  of  republican  institutions  and 
civil   liberty,    with    constitutional   guarantees.      He   who 
would  prove  recreant  to  so  sacred  a  cause,  or  from  a  desire 
of  personal  aggrandizement  or  the  gratification  of  personal 
ambition,  would  trample  under  his  feet  and  sacrilice  thepe 
great  principles  which  underlie  the  very  foundations  of  onr 


federative  system,  and  upon  the  success  of  which  the  hap- 
piness of  unborn  n:!  I  lions  di'pcnds,  deserves  an  eternity  of 
infamy  with  the  everlasting  execrations  of  niankiud  upon 
his  head. 

As  a  band  of  patriots,  let  us  unite  all  our  energies  and 
exert  all  our  iuHuence  for  the  success  of  our  glorious  cause, 
and  for  the  maintenance  in  th(Mr  original  purity  of  the  great 
principles  of  civil  and  religioux  liberty,  which  form  the  very 
pillars  upon  which  tlie  temple  of  our  republicanisiu  rests. 

COXFEDEKAI  K  I.'KI.ATIONS. 

The  war  is  still  waged  against  the  {teople  of  the  Confed- 
erate k?tates,  by  the  Goveriunent  of  the  United  States,  with 
a  vindictiveness  and  cruelty  which  has  tew  parallels  in  his- 
tory. For  nearly  four  years  we  have  met  the  mighty  as- 
saults of  the  Federal  armies,  and  have  repulsed  and  driven 
ihenj  back  on  many  a  hard-fought  field.  We  have  lost  im- 
portant points,  but  none  which  we  can  not temporaiily  sur- 
render to  the  enemy,  and,  with  good  nuiuagement.  iinally 
«uc<!eed.  Atlanta  was  probably  the  most  vital  point  to  our 
mccess  that  has  bee«  won  by  the  superior  nunibers  of  the 
eiiemy.  Its  fall  was  a  severe  blow,  and  for  a  time  caused 
great  despondency  anioiig  our  people.  I  am  happy  to  see, 
however,  that  they  are  fast  recovering  from  depressioUj 
and  confidence  is  being  restored. 

At  the  time  of  General  Shernran's  march  from  Dalton  to 
Atlanta,  we  had  a  large  force  west  of  the  ]\Ii»sissip]>i  of  as 
gallant  troops  as  ever  laced  an  enemy,  which  had  been  al- 
most in  a  state  of  inactivity,  since  our  splendid  victcu-ies  in 
Louisiana  last  spring  had  driven  the  enemy,  except  a  few 
garrisons,  from  that  department.  Major  General  Early  is 
said  to  have  had  a  force  of  t20,000  men,  of  the  very  best  of 
the  Army  in  Virginia,  with  which  he  drove  the  Federal 
General  out  of  the  valley  of  that  ^ftate,  and  pressed  for- 
ward into  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  and  remained  tl^ere 
till  his  presence  provoked  those  and  the  adjoiidng  States  to- 
organize  a  force  suiiicicnt  to  drive  him  back  and  to  threaten 
Richmond  in  the  rear.  CJetieral  Forrest,  with  a  large  cav- 
alry force,  was  operating  in  North  Missibsippi,  repelling 
raids  from  a  country  that  had  been  overrun  till  there  was 
but  little  public  property  for  the  enemy  to  destroy;  and 
General  Morgan  was  raiding  in  Kentucky.  While  our  for- 
ces were  thus  scattered  from  Pennsylvania  to  Texas,  Gen'l 
Sherman,  strengthened  by  a  concentration  of  the  enemy's 
forces  from  different  departments,  was  steadily  pres^sing  for- 
ward to  Atlanta,  the  very  heart  and  railroad  centre  of  the 
Confederacy,  with  a  force  sufficient,  by  reason  of  its  superior 
numbers,  to  continually  flank  and  drive  back  the  gallant 
Army  of  Tennessee.  During  this  whole  campaign.  General 
Sherman's  base  of  supplies  at  Nashville  and  Louisville  was 
hundreds  of  miles  in  his  rear,  and  he  was  dependent  for 


transportation  upon  a  railroad  constructed  through  an  ex- 
ceedingly rough  country,  with  bridges,  culverts  and  curves 
along  its  entire  line.  In  this  condition,  more  than  three 
hundred  miles  from  the  border  of  Kentucky,  in  the  midst 
of  an  enemy's  country,  he  was  permitted  to  go  forward^ 
without  serious  interruption  in  his  rear,  and  to  accomplish 
his  grand  design. 

Georgians,  whose  homes  liave  been  ov,errun,  property 
<lestroyed,  and  fields  laifl  waste,  have  naturall}'  inquired,  a» 
doubtles:-!  the  future  historians  will,  why  part  of  the  large 
force  unemployed  west  ot  the  Mississippi  were  not  brought 
to  aid  the  Army  of  Tennessee  during  the  summer  months"? 
And  why.  wlipn  the  enemy  were  driven  from  the  Valley  of 
Virginia,  the  key  points  were  not  garrisoned  and  held  by 
part  of  Early's  force,  and  the  balance  sent  to  Georgia,  instead 
of  the  whole  being  sent  upon  the  campaign  into  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania,  which  only  served  to  stir  up  and  unite 
Northern  sentiment  against  us,  and  to  enable  the  Federal 
Govei*n:nent  to  raise  an  additional  force  sufticient  to  drive 
back  the  expedition  with  disaster  to  our  arms.  If  this 
whole  force  could  be  spared  from  Richmond  to  invade  Penn- 
sylvania, might  not  part  of  it  have  held  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
and  the  balance  been  sent  to  Georgia?  And  could  not  For- 
rest,  even  at  the  expense  of  temporary  loss  in  Mississippi, 
have  been  sent  to  destroy  the  railroads  in  the  rear,^ndjStop 
the  supplies  of  the  Federal  army"/  If  we  had  adopted  the 
rule  by  which  most  great  Generals  in  such  emergencies 
have  succeeded,  of  the  evacuation  for  the  time  of  all  points 
not  absolutely  vital,  and  the  rapid  and  vigorous  concentra- 
tion of  every  soldier  in  the  Conl'ederacy  not  necessary  to 
hold  Richmond  and  probably  one  or  two  other  key  points, 
and  had  hastened  the  whole  to  Atlanta  and  to  Sherman's 
rear,  and  hurled  them  upon  biiu  in  his  exposed  and  critical 
condition,  the  repulse  and  rout,  if  not  the  liestruction  or 
capture,  of  his  army"  could  scarcely  have  been  doubtful. 
And  as  his  army  was  the  only  defence  provided  by  the 
Federal  Governn)ent  for  the  Western  States,  such  a  con- 
summation would  not  only  have  relieved  Georgia,  Tennessee, 
North  Alabama  and  North  Mississippi  from  the  presence  of 
the  enemy,  but  it  would  have  thrown  open  the  '*  green 
fields"  ot  Kentucky  wliicli  have  beeti  more  than  once 
promised  to  our  troops, Tind  would  probably  have  opened 
the  way  for  an  early  pea(;e.  Tiie  powers  that  be  deter- 
mined upon  a  different  line  Of  policy.  The  world  knows 
the  results,  and  we  must  acquiesce.  But  the  misfortunes 
following  the-  misguided  judgment  of  our  rulers  must  not 
have  the  eft'ect  of  relaxing  our  zeal,  or  chilling  our  love  for 
the  cause. 

We  may,  as  we  have  a  right  to  do,  difler  among  ourselves 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  a  certain  line  of  policy,  and  of  certain 


n  r»  n  i*^  1 


G 

acts  of  tlio  Confederate  administration  ;  and  scnic  of  us 
n»ay  dt-plore  its  errors  and  niisnianiigenjent,  wliile  others 
may  aticuipt  to  justily  all  its  mistaiies  and  defend  all  it« 
errors,  and  may  be  ready  in  advance  to  approve  everything  it 
may  do,  and  still  we  may  all,  as  one  man,  remain  true  to 
our  sacred  causi-,  and  be  prepared,  if  necessary,  to  expend 
our  last  dollar  and  shed  our  last  drop  of  blood  in  its  delence. 

While  I  am  satisfied  a  large  majority  of  the  peojde  of  this 
State  disapprove  many  of  the  acts  and  much  of  the  [)olicy 
of  the  Confederate  administration,  I  am  of  opinion  there 
are  but  a  very  small  number  of  the  people  of  (.{(iori^ia,  who 
nn-  disloyal  to  the  cause,  or  who  would  eonsoot  to  close  the 
war  without  the  achievement  of  the  great  ends  for  which 
we  took,  up  arms — the  independence  of  the  Confederate 
States  and  the  vindication  and  establishment  of  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  several  States. 

Confederate  independence  with  centralized  power,  with- 
out iState  sovereignty  and  constitutional  and  religious  liberty, 
would  be  very  little  better  than  subjugation,  as  it  mattei"s 
little  who  our  n  aster  is,  if  we  are  to  have  one.  We  should 
therefore  keep  constantly  in  view  the  great  principles  upon 
which  we  entered  into  this  unecjual  contest,  and  should  re- 
buke every  encroachment  made  upon  them  by  our  own 
government,  while  we  resist,  with  arms  in  our  hands,  like 
assaults  mtide  upon  them  by  our  enemies.  AVhile  our 'gal- 
lant troops  in  the  li-i^ld  are  sacrificing  the  coj»'forts  of  liome, 
property,  health  and  even  life  itself,  and  ;.  e  enduring  all 
the  privations,  hardships,  perils  and  danger^  of  the  service, 
they  should  never  once  lose  sight  of  the  grt,,t  principles  of 
<Mj[ualitv,  liberty,  and  coustitutioual  republicanism,  for 
which  they  unfurled  freedom's  banners  in  the  lace  of  the 
enemy.  Nor  should  they  ever  consent  to  lay  down  their 
arms  till  these  principles  are  recognized  by  our  foe,  and 
faithfully  carried  out  in  practice  by  our  own  government. 
In  other  wojds,  we  should  never  be  content  till  we  have 
established  upon  a  firm  basis  the  good  old  republican  insti- 
tutions of  our  fathers  in  all  their  purity,  and  should  never, 
under  any  circumstances,  consent  to  accept  in  their  place 
strong  centralized  government  with  inilitar}'  despotitim.  I 
do  not  see  how  it  can  be  denied  by  any  candid  man  that  we 
have,  in  practice,  made  fciirful  strides,  since  the  war  began, 
towards  a  centralized  government  with  unlimited  powers.' 

The  constant  tendencies  of  the  war  seem  to  have  been  to 
the  subordination  of  the  civil  authorities  and  laws  to  the 
military,  and  the  concentratioil  of  the  supreme  power  in  the 
hands  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  ariniovS.  The 
longer  the  war  lasts,  the  greater  the  tendency  to  this  result, 
and  the  less  probability  at  its  terniiuation  of  a  return  to 
the  constitutional  forms  and  republican  simplicity  which 
existed  at  its  commencement. 


lUit  it  may  be  a&ked,  wli^n  is  tliis  bloody  struggle  to  ter- 
minate ?  No  human  forecast  can  so  far  penetrate  the  fu- 
ture as  to  give  a  satisfactory  reply  to  this  question.  The- 
Northern  States  have,  resources  and  men  enough  to  enable- 
them  to  continue  the  war  for  years  to  come,  and  we  havt- 
sufficient  power  of  resistance  and  endurance  to  enable  «:?■ 
to  continue  to  balHe  all  their  schemes  of  subjugati)!).  The* 
sword  can  never  make  peace  betsvoen  the  two  contending 
parties'.  When  this  is  done,  it  will  be  by  nrs;>ifi"f't^/>.  The 
prospect  seems  to  indicate  that  the  war  may  probably  last 
till  both  sections  are  exhausted,  before  the  passions  of  the 
people  will  subside,  and  reason  so  far  resume  her  sway  as 
to  prepare  the  people  of  both  countries  for  negotiation,  as 
the  only  means  of  adjustment  which  c?n  terminate  the 
bloody  strife.  This  may  not  take  place  till  we  have  accu^ 
mulated  a  debt  on  both  sides  greater  than  we  or  our  poster- 
ity can  ever  pay — till  hundreds  of  thousands  more  men 
have  been  slain,  and  millions  of  women  and  childreri 
have  been  rcnluced  to  widowhood,  orphanjigc  and  poverty 
— till  our  taxes  have  become  so  burdensome,  that  endurance 
is  no  longer  possible — till  the  civil  laws  cease  to  be  respec- 
ted, and  highway  robbery  and  murder  are  the  daily  busi 
ness  of  predatory  bands,  and  till  the  Federal  and  Confed- 
erate governments  have  usurped  and  exercise  all  the  powers 
claimed  by  the  most  absolute  despots,  each  pleading  in 
extenuation  of  its  usurpations  the  necessity  growing  out  of 
the  like  usurpations  by  the  other. 

There  is  reason  to  fear  that  President  Lincoln,  if  re-elec- 
ted, and  President  Davis,  whose  pa.^sions  are  inliamcd 
against  each  otht-r,  may  never  be  able  to  agree  upon  terms 
for  the  commencement  of  negotiations,  and  that  the  war 
mtist  continue  to  nige  in  all  its  fury  till  there  is  a  change  of 
administration,  unless  the  people  of  both  countries,  in  their 
aggregate  capacity  as  sovereign  Statos,  biing  their  powerful 
influence  to  bear,  requiring  both  governments  to  stop  the 
war,  and  leave  the  question  to  be  settled  upon  the  princi- 
ple's of  177G,  as  laid  down  in  th.e  Georgia  resolutions, 
passed  at  your  late  session. 

These  resolutions,  in  substance,  propose  that  the  treaty 
making  powers  in  both  governments  agree  to  stop  the  war, 
and  leave  each  or  any  one  of  the  sovereign  States,  by  a 
convention  of  its  own  people,  fairly  chosen  by  the  legal  and 
duly  qualified  voters,  to  determine  fui'  itself  whether  it  will 
unite  its  destinies  with  the  one  or  tlie  other  Confederacy. 
There  may  he  doubts  whether  Missouri,  Kentucky,  or  Maiy- 
land  wish  to  remain  component  parts  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  or  to  unite  with  the  Confederate  States. 
If  either  one  of  those  States  shall  refuse  to  unite  with  us, 
we  have  no  just  right  to  demand  such  union,  as  we  have 
neither  the  right  to  coerce  a  sovereign  State,  nor  to  govern 


her  witljout  her  consent.  And,  if  we  hud  tho  riirlit,  we 
(•ert.iinh-  have  not  the  power,  as  we  can  only  govern  a  State 
without  her  consent  by  subjugation,  and  we  have  no  j»ower 
to  subjugate  any  one  of  tliose  States,  witii  the  whole  power 
of  the  United  States  at  her  back,  prepared  to  defend  her 
against  our  attacks. 

We  should  stand  reiidy  therefore  at  all  tnnes  to  settle  the 
difficulty  by  a  reference  of  t  lie  (piestion  of  future  alliance, 
to  the  States  whose  positions  may  be  doubtful  fordeterminft- 
tion  by  them  in  their  sovereign  capacity. 

Our  Congress  in  its  manifesto  has  virtually  indorsed  the 
great  principles  of  the  Georgia  Resolutions,  and  the  Presi- 
dent has  said  iti  his  messages  that  he  desires  peace  upon  the 
principles  to  defend  which  we  eiitered  into  the  struggle.  I 
am  not  aware  however,  of  any  direct  tender  of  adjust- 
ment, upon  these  principles  having  been  recently  made 
by  the  treaty  making  power  of  our  Government 
to  the  same  power  in  the  Federal  Governnient.  I  re- 
gret that  the  wish  of  Georgia  as  expressed  through  her 
legislature  has  not  been  respected  in  this  particular.  Sm'h 
a  direct  tender  made  through  commissioners  liy  Presidi'ut 
Davis  to  President  Lincoln  would  place  the  question  fiiirly 
and  properly  before  the  States  and  peo[»le  ol  the  Xortii  for 
discussion  and  action.  Had  it  been  done;  months  since  it 
could  not  have  failed  to  have  had  a  powerful  influence  upon 
the  Presidential  election  in  the  North,  which  m:iy  have 
much  to  do  with  the  future  course  and  conduct  of  the 
war. 

It  may  be  said  however,  that  the  proposition  to  settle  our 
difficulties  upon  these  terms  niade  by  President  Davis  to 
President  Lincoln,  would  be  a  letting  down  of  the  dignity 
of  our  Government,  and  might  be  construed  as  an  evidence 
of  conscious  weakness  on  our  part.  1  confess  my  inability 
to  see  how  tho  direct  tender  of  settlement  upon  these  great 
and  correct  principles  by  the  treaty  making  power  in  our 
Government,  to  the  likej)o\ver  in  tlie  United  States,  Gov- 
ernment, could  compromit  thedignit}'  of  our  Governmerjr. 
aiiy  more  than  an  //a/zV'YV  tender  of"  the  sanie  proposition 
through  the  irregular  channel  of  an  Executive  message  or  a 
Congressional  manifesto. 

There  is  certaiuly  more  true  dignity  in  a  direct  open 
manly  tender  through  the  constituted  channel.  But  nice 
questions  of  official  etiquette  and  false  notions  of  personal 
dignity  should  be  laid  aside,  when  they  intervene  to  prevent 
action  upon  which  the  blood  of  thousands  and  the  happi- 
ness of  millions  may  depend. 

The  democratic  party  of  the  North  which  is  the  only 
party  there  claiming  to  maintain  State  right  principles  and 
which  has  great  strength  and  power  whatever  may  be  it« 
fortunes  in  the  coming  election,  has  declared  in  favor  of    a 


suspension  of  hostilities,  and  a  convention  of  all  the  States 
as  the  best  means  of  adjustment.  And  I  see  no  good  rea- 
son wiiy  the  treaty  making  power  in  our  Guvernmeot 
should  not  tender  tliis  })Toposition  to  the  Governmentofthe 
United  States.  There  can  certainly  be  nothing  like  humilia- 
tion or  degredation  in  a  proposition  to  leave  the  settlement 
of  a  question  whicli  the  General  Governments,  which  Are 
the  creatures  of  the  States,  can  net  ugree  upon,  to  their 
creators — the    sovereign  States  themselves. 

However  much  the  idea  may  be  ridiculed  to  prejudice 
the  popular  mind  by  the  enemies  of  state  sovereignty,  the 
convention  if  called  would  no  doubt  be  one  of  the  most 
able  and  dignihed  assemblages  that  ever  met  upon  the  con- 
tinent. In  so  trying  an  emergency,  involving  issues  of  such 
immense  magnitude,  the  States  would  doubtless  select 
their  wisest  ablest  and  best  men  to  represent  them,  men 
whose  passions  have  been  subdued  by  age  and  reflection, 
and  who  are  alike  distinguished  for  love  of  justice,  balance 
of  mind  and  dignity  of  character.  Such  a  convention  com- 
2>osed  of  the  greatest  and  best  men  of  the  country,  of  mature 
age  and  large  experience,  with  tlie  scenes  of  blood,  carnage 
and  desolation  through  which  we  have  passed  fresh  in  their 
recollection,  and  the  present  and  prosi)ective  condition  of 
the  country  well  known  to  them,  could  hardly  be  expected 
to  decide  in  favor  of  a  continuation  of  the  war,  with  all  its 
blighting  effects  upon  both  the  North  and  the  South,  or  to 
adjourn  without  submitting  apian  of  settlement  honorable 
and  just  to  the  people  of  both  Confederacies,  and  to  all  tiie 
States. 

All  questions  of  boundary,  and inliind  navigation,  and  all 
treaties  of  amity,  commerce,  and  alliance,  and  all  agree- 
ments necessary  to  preserve  in  future  the  just  balance  of 
power  upon  the  continent,  could  be  properly  shaped  in 
such  a  convention  and  proposed  to  the  treaty  making 
powers  as  the  result  of  its  deliberations.  Grit  might  be 
agreed  in  advance  by  the  treaty  making  powers  that  the 
convention  settle  the  whole  question  and  that  its  action  be 
final  and  conclusive  when  submitted  back  to  the  people  of 
the  several  States  and  ratified  by  them  respectively. 

In  that  event  it  must  of  ("ourse  be  understood  that  each 
State  would  ent»M-  the  convention  as  a  separate  independent 
Sovereign — the  equal  of  every  other  State, — and  that  the 
action  of  the  body  as  in  case  of  the  conventions  which  . 
formed  the  constitutions  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
Confederate  States  would  only  be  binding  upon  each  State, 
when  submitted  back  to  and  freely  ratified  by  the  people 
thereof  in  their  sovereign  capacity. 

The  propriety  of  submitting  the  question  by  the  treaty 
making  powers  to  a  convention  of  the  Sovereign  States  is 
the  more  obvious,  in  view  of  the    want   of  power    in   the 


10 

Prosidents  and  iScMiates  of  the  two  Governments  to  muke  a 
treaty  ofpojice  without  the  consent  of  the  sovereign  States 
to  be  jiifected  by  ir.  No  permanent  treaty  of  peace  can  be 
niad«'  whieh  does  not  contain  an  article  lixins^  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  two  Governments,  when  tlic  whole  country  is 
inhabited  as  ours  is,  and  one  or  the  other  Government 
must  t'xercise  immediate  jurisdiction  over  the  inhabitants 
of  each  State  and  eacli  county.  In  other  words  we  can 
have  no  treaty  of  peace  that  does  not  <h'line  the  States  or 
parts  of  States  that;  are  to  be  embraced  iii  each  Govern- 
ment. And  this  can  only  be  done  by  the  consent  of  the 
States  tiiemselves.  The  action  o^ separate  Staffs  is  there- 
lore  an  inth'spensable  preliminary  to  the  validity  of  any 
treaty  of  peace  that  can  he  m.uic.  This  action  may  by 
k-greement  of  the  treaty  makiug  powers  t-ake  place  prior  or 
subsequent  to  the  date  of  the  treaty,  but  in  either  case  the 
efiiict  is  the  same,  as  the  validity  of  the  treaty  is  dependent- 
upon  the  action  oi' Sr pa fntc  States. 

Suppose  for  instance  it  is  aijreed  by  the  treaty  making 
powers  that  the  State  of  Ohio  shall  become  part  of  the 
Confederate  States,  when  an  overwhehning  majority  of  her 
people  in  convention  called  by  the  propef  State  authority, 
decide  by  solemn  ordinance  to  remain  with  the  United  States. 
Gr  suppose  it  is  agreed  by  the  treaty  making  powers  that 
Kentucky  shall  remain  part  of  the  United  States,  when  two 
thirds  of  her  people  decide'to  go  w'ith  the  Confederate 
States.  ^Vill  any  one  contend  that  the  treaty  making 
power  has  the  right  thus  to  dispose  of  States,  and  assign 
them  their  future  positions  without  tiieir  consents  And 
will  any  body  say  that  a  treaty  of  peace  can  be  made  with- 
out delining  the  Government  with  which  Ohio  or  Kentucky 
shall  be  associated  in  future.^ 

Suppose  again  that  the  treaty  making  powers  in  fixing 
t)ie  boundaries  of  the  two  Confederacies  should  agree  to  a 
division  of  ^''irginia,and  that  the  territory  embraced  in'  the 
pretended  new  State  formed  of  part  of  Virginia,  shall  be- 
come part  of  the  Utnted  States,  and  that  the  balance  shall 
go  with  the  Confederate  States.  Will  any  southern  man 
conteiid  that  she  can  be  thus  dismembered  and  part  of  her 
territory  ceded  by  the  President  and  Senate  to  the  Govern- 
ment ot  the  United  States  without  her  consents  He  who 
so  contends  denies  the  very  fundamental  principles  upon 
which  the  (I'overnment  of  the  Confederate  States  was  or- 
ganized. What  would  the  old  Virginians  of  the  Jeff Im- 
sonian  School  say  to  this  sort  of  State  Sovereignty  ?  What 
would  Washington.  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  Henry,  Lee, 
Mason,  Randolph,  and  other  Statesmen  of  their  day  have 
said,  if  they  had  been  told  that  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States  conferred  upon  tjie  treaty  making  power,  the 


11 

ligiit  to  cede  one  half  the  territory  of  Virginia  to  a    foreign 
State,  without  consulting  her  or  obtaining  her  consent/ 

If  President  Davis  and  the  Senate  have  the  power  to 
cede  part  of  Virginia  to  the  United  States  in  tixing  the 
boundaries  of  the  two  Confederacies  without  lier  consent, 
they  have  as  much  power  to  cede  tlie  whole  State  to  Great 
Britian  or  France  for  commercial  advantages.  Or  to  ctde 
Georgia  to  the  United  States  in  consideration  that  the  other 
States  shall  be  recognized  and  the  war  cease.  Such  a  propo- 
sition is  too  preposterous  for  serious  argument. 

He  who  claims  such  powers  for  the  ['resident  and  Senate, 
would  not  only  degrade  the  States  to  the  position  of  provin- 
ces, but  would  clodie  the  treaty  making  power  of  the  Con- 
federacy with  imperial  dignity  greater  than  the  most  en- 
•lightened  monarchs  of  the  present  day  assume  to  them- 
selves. It  has  been  claimed  as  one  of  the  prerogatives  of 
sovereigns  that  they  could  cede  to  each  other  their  provin- 
oes  at  will.  But  in  the  late  treaty  between  the  Emperors  of 
Franco  and  Austria  the  former  refused  to  accept  a  province 
ceded  by  the  latter,  and  incorporate  it  into  his  P^mpire  and 
govern  it  till  the  qtiestion  was  submitted  to  the  people  ot 
the  Province  and  they  gave  their  consent. 

It  isc-ertainly  too  clear  to  be  successfully  questioned  that 
the  Governments  of  the  two  Confederacies  have  no  power 
to  make  a  treaty  of  peace  and  fix  the  boundaries  of  the  two 
countries,  which,  situated  as  we  arc  is  a  necessaiy  part  of 
the  treaty,  without  the  concurrence  and  consent  of  the  in- 
dividual States  to  be  ailected  by  it.  If  this  can  net  be  done 
without  the  consent  of  the  States,  where  is  the  objection  to 
^a  convention  of  the  States  to  settle  in  advance  the  necessa- 
ry preliminaries  to  which  their  consent  is  indispensable  be- 
fore the  treaty  can  be  valid  and  binding  ?  In  the  ,  conven- 
tion it  could  be  agreed  which  States  would  go  with  the 
North  and  which  with  the  South,  and  the  ratification  of  the 
rtction  of  the  convention  by  the  treaty  making  powers,  and 
by  the  people  of  tlu;  several  States  to  be  affected  by  it,  wheu 
of  a  character  to  require  their  separate  action,  would  l.x 
the  future  stofi/s  of  thediffertnt  States,  and  the  proper  boun- 
daries of  the  two  Confederacies. 

While  I  am  satislied  that  separate  State  action  may  and 
most  probably  will  be  a  necessary  preliminary  to  a  treaty  of 
peace,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  misunderstood  upon  tliis  point. 
The  sovereign  States  of  the  Confederacy  each  seceded  from 
the  old  union.  This  they  had  a  perfect  right  to  do.  And 
each  is  as  sovereign  in  the  present  Confedeiacy  as  she  was 
in  tlie  old,  and  has  the  same  right  under  the  like  circum- 
stances which  she  tlien  exercised.  lUit  when  these  states* 
seceiled  and  formed  the  present  'Confederacy,  and  entered 
into  the  present  defensive  war  together,  they  at  least  by  strong 
implication,  pledged  themselves  to  stand  by  and   aid     eacli 


1-3 

other  against  the  common  enemy  till  the  end  of  the  strug- 
gle. Thus  situated  I  deny  that  any  otie  of  the  States  can 
honorably  withdraw  from  the  contest,  without  the  consent 
of  her  .sister  states  and  make  a  separate  treaty  of  peace  with 
tiie  enemy. 

Tlic  people  of  the  States  can  meet  m  convention  and 
.abolish  the  Confederate  Government  whenever  its  usurpa- 
tions and  abuses  of  [)Ower  have  reached  a  point,  where  the 
s:)viireignty  of  the  States  and  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
people  are  no  longer  secure  under  it.  The  people  of  th^ 
Northen  (government  have  a  right  to  do  the  same  by  a  like 
convention,  and  to  establish  a  new  Government  in  place  of 
the  present  tyranny  by  which  they  are  controlled. 

If  the  people  of  the  two  Confederacies  have  this  power 
which  will  not  I  presume  be  denied  D}'  any  one  professing 
the  State  rights  doctrines  of  177G,  why  may  they  not  meet 
together  in  convention,  and  agree  upon  the  boundaries  and 
treaties  necessarily  growing  out  of  a  separation  which  is  al- 
ready an  accomplished  fact? 

1  am  well  aware  that  the  advocates  of  strong  central 
power  both  in  the  United  States  and  the  Confederate  States, 
including  many  of  the  oflice  holders  of  both  governments, 
and  the  place  hunters  and  large  government  contractors 
who  have  made  millions  of  dollars  out  of  the  government, 
without  once  exposing  their  persons  to  danger  in  battle, 
and  the  s'jcret  spies  in  the  employment  of  the  governments 
who  are  supjtorted  out  of  the  large  secret  sercicr  funds  at 
the  command  of  the  two  Presidents,  to  do  their  bidding, 
and  such  officials  as  wear  gold  lace  in  cities  and  drive  fine 
iioraes  and  caniages  sujtported  out  of  the  public  crib,  while 
all  around  them  is  misery  and  want  ;  and  tin;  large  provost 
and  pasS{)ort  corps,  scattered  among  our  country  villiVes 
and  upon  our  Railroads,  jealous  of  the  prerogatives  of-th-e 
central  |)ovver,  and  anxious  to  luaintain  and  extend  them, 
are  ready  by  their  acti«)n  to  deny  that  the  States  have  aoy- 
thing  lettbut  the  name,  or  that  they  can  have  any  agency 
in  negotiating  a  treaty  of  [»eace,  or  that  they  can  meet  in 
convention  to  consider  of  this  subject  without  being  guilty 
us  "traitorous  States."  Those  minions  of  power  protec- 
ted from  the  dangers  of  the  battlefield,  never  fail  to  im- 
pugii  the  motives  and  ([uestion  the  loyalty  of  every  one 
who  denies  the  legality  of  any  act  of  the  governinciit,  or 
questions  the  wisdom  of  any  part  of  its  policy. 

They  very  cordially  adopt  the  maxim  "the  King  can  d-o 
MO  wrong."  Of  course,  all  such  are  loud  and  clamorous  in 
their  denunciations  of  those  vvlio  advocate  a  convention  of 
States  to  agree  upon  the  terms  of  separation  and  stop  the 
effusion  of  blood.  If  the  war  should  cease  they  must  si nl;. 
to  their  natural  level,  for  then,  "Othello's  occupation's 
gone." 


13 

But  the  advocates  of  free  governmeut  may  safely  appeal 
from  all  such  to  the  sober  sound  judgment  of  the  great  mass 
af  the  American  people,  North  and  South,  who  bear  the 
heavy  burdens  of  the  war,  without  the  offices  or  patronage 
of  either  government,  whose  sons  have  been  conscribed  and 
torn  from  them  and  slaughtered,  luany  of  whose  homes  have 
been  destroyed,  and  their  farms  and  cities  laid  waste,  who 
are  daily  robbed  of  their  property  by  in)pressment  agents 
or  other  government  officials,  without  paying  them  any- 
thing for  it,  who  bear  the  burdens  of  the  enormous  taxation 
necessary  to  carry  on  the  war,  and  supjx)rt  all  the  large 
olasscs  above  mentioned  in  extravagant  indulgences,  and 
whose  posterity  and  property  must  pay  the  immense  pub- 
Uc^debt  which  is  constantly  augmented.  And  the  appeal 
may  be  made  with  still  greater  force  to  the  gallant  soldier 
iu  the  storms  of  winter  and  in  the  weary  march,  while  amid 
the  perils  that  surround  him  his  thoughts  recur  to  the  suf- 
ferings of  loved  ones  at  home  ;  as  well  as  to  all  true  chns- 
tians  in  both  countries.  Shall  this  bloodshed,  carnage  and 
desolation  continue,  to  gratify  the  ambition  and  obstinacy 
of  those  in  power?  Or  shall  the  people  of  both  countries 
demand  of  their  rulers  that  the  war  shall  cease,  and  as  it  is 
impossible  that  the  people  of  the  two  sections  can  again 
live  together  in  harmony,  that  a  convention  of  all  the  States 
be  held  to  agree  upon  terms  of  separation,  and  upon  the 
treaties  necessary  to  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  neigh- 
boring governments  at  peace  with  each  other. 

We  may  be  told  that  the  Northern  Government  will  not 
agree  to  such  a  convention,  I  very  readily  admit  that  neith- 
er the  Lincoln  Government  norourowu  wiil  probably  agree 
to  it,  till  a  stronger  pressure  of  the  people  is  brought  to  bear 
upon  both,  and  that  the  advocates  of  this  policy  in  the 
North  cannot  control  it  so  long  as  our  presses  and  official!*, 
State  and  Confederate,  denounce  the  movement  and  there- 
by, put  weapons  in  the  hands  of  the  Goverr.ment  at  AVasli- 
Ington  with  which  to  crush  out  this  growing  sentiment 
iu  the  North,  and  more ^  especially  iu  the  North  Western 
States.  But  I  think  recent  developments  have  shown  that 
this  doctrine  will  soon  bear  down  every  tliijig  before  it  in 
the  North,  if  met  l)y  demonstiations  of  approval  in  the 
South.  Stop  the  war  and  call  a  convention  of  the  States 
to  negotiate,  and  the  people  of  the  North  who  are  as  tired 
of  it  as  we  are,  will  agree  to  a  proper  adjustment  upon  the 
terms  above  indicated  sooner  than  resume  hostilities. 

In  the  mean  time  till  proper  arrangements  can  be  made 
to  adjust  our  difficulties  and  stop  the  etiusion  of  blood  by 
negotiation,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  man  in  the  Confedera- 
cy to  do  everything  possibly  in  his  power  to  strengthen  and 
ftustain  the  gallant  and  glorious  armies  of  States  and  the 
Confederacy.  '  Every  man  able  to   bear  arms   who  can  be 


1\ 

spared  t'rom  homo,  should  be  sent  to  the  Front  either  in  the 
Annies  of  the  Cont'ederacv  or  as  part  ot  the  jMilitia  of  the 
States  and  everything  possible  be  done  to  provide  for  the 
wants  and  comfort  of  our  troops  in  the  field  and  their  loved 
ones  at  home.  To  enable  us  to  conduct  negotiations  success- 
fully we  must  renew  our  etibrts  to  strengthen  our  arrnie* 
and  maintain  our  cause  vvith  ability  and  energy  in  the 
field,  cost  what  it  may  in  blood  or  treasure.  We  must  not, 
however,  expect  the  troops  to  do  all  by  hard  fighting, 
bloodshed  and  the  sacrifice  of  life.  The  Statesman  and  the 
people  at  home  have  an  important  part  to  act,  as  well  as 
the  General  and  the  troops  in  the  field  in  terminating  the 
struggle.  If  the  troops  liilter  and  fail  to  do  their  part  in 
the  hour  of  battle,  the  Statesman  is  ready  to  cast  censure 
upon  them.  If  the  Statesman  neglects  his  part  in  conduct- 
ing wise  negotiations  to  stop  the  war,  the  troops  have  great- 
er cause  to  censure  and  condemn  him,  as  he  has  no  right  to 
trifle  with  their  lives,  and  continue  to  expose  them  in  bat- 
tle, if  the  object  cau  be  attained  by  negotiation  without 
the  shedding  of  blood.  In  a  crisis  like  the  present  States- 
manship is  even  more  important  than  Generalship.  Ger>- 
firals  can  never  stop  a  war,  though  it  may  last  twenty 
years  till  one  has  been  able  to  con<iaer  the  other.  States- 
wen  terminate  wars  by  negotiation. 

HLOCKADE  RUXNIXr,. 

After  the  appropriation  made  by  the  General  Assembly 
for  the  exportation  of  cotton  and  the  importation  of  such 
supplies  of  clothing  for  troops,  cotton  cards,  itc,,  as  the 
State  might  need  I  sent  Col.  Wm.  Schly  of  Augusta  to  En- 
gland to  purchase  an  interest  in  a  StGiuner.  Finding  that 
he  was  not  successful  by  reason  oftlie  non-compliance  of  the 
other  party  in  getting  tlie  vessel  fur  half  interest,  in  whicli 
I  had  contracted  at  $185,000  in  Confederate  States  8  per 
cent  bonds,  1  made  a  coiitrafit  with  the  Exporting  and  Im- 
porting Company  of  which  Col.  C.  A.  L.  L;imar,  was  agent 
for  the  charter  of  three  vessels,  with  the  privilege  of  adding 
two  others  which  the  company  expected  to  have  ready  in  a 
few  months. 

This  contract  I  considered  advantageous  to  the  State,  and 
if  left  free  to  carry  it  out  I  could  have  exported  cotton 
<inough  to  have  purchased  all  the  supplies  the  State  might 
r^eed,  and  could  have  imported  them  upon  reasonable 
terms. 

At  this  point  I  was  interrupted  by  the  interposition 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  under  the  order  of  the 
President  refused  to  permit  any  vessel  to  clear  unless  she 
carried  out  one  half  the  cargo  for  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment upon  terms  which  were  below  what  the  State  was  to 
pay  for  the  use  of  the  vessels.     This  restriction  was  placed 


15 

upon  the  vessels  of  the  States  as  it  was  said,  by  authority 
vested  in  the  President  by  act  of  Congress  of  Gth,  Feby. 
J964  which  prohibits  the  exportation  of  Cotton,  &c.,  except 
under  such  uniform  regulations  as  shall  be  made  by  the 
President  of  the  Confederate  States.  This  construction 
Gould  not  be  sustained  however,  upon  any  known  rule,  as 
the  5th  section  of  the  act  declares  explicitly  ''that  nothing 
in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  prohibit  the  Confederate 
States  or  any  of  than  from  exporting  any  of  the  articles  herein 
enumerated  on  their  own  account."  This  provision  in  the 
act  therefore  leaves  the  States  as  free  to  export  on  their  own 
account  either  upon  vessels  owned  or  chartered  by  them,  a« 
*hey  were  before  the  act  was  passed.  But  as  the  proviso  in 
the  act  had  been  virtually  repealed  by  an  Executive  order^  I 
in  common  with  the  Governors  ofMississippi,  Alabama  and 
North  Carolina,  (the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  concurring 
as  shown  by  his  letter)  appealed  to  Congress  to  take  up  the 
question  and  make  such  provisions  as  would  enable  the 
States  to  exercise  their  just  rights.  After  mature  considera- 
tion Congress  passed  a  bill  for  that  purpose  which  the 
President  vetoed.  Congress  then  as  I  am  informed  by  one 
of  the  Representatives  of  this  State  passed  a  resolution 
unanimously  in  the  House,  and  with  almost  unanin)ii;y  in 
the  Senate,  declaring  in  substance  that  the  States  should  be 
].>ermitted  to  export  and  import  without  interruption  upon 
vessels  chartered  by  them  prior  to  the  date  ofthe  resolution, 
which  would  have  It  (t  the  vessels  chartered  by  tkis  State 
free.  This  resolution  was  passed  near  the  close  of  the 
jjcssiou,  and  the  Presid  nt  refused,  as  the  member  informs 
me  either  to  sign  it  or  t  >  return  it,  that  Congress  might  be 
permitted  to  vote  to  ov  rrula  his  veto.  Thus  by  the  order 
of  the  Excutive  alone,  i  otwithsfcanding  the  action  of  Con- 
gress and  tiie  provisio:i  in  the  5th  Section  of  theact  above 
referred  to,  the  States  wt*re  prohibited  from  exporting  cot- 
ton and  importing  blankets  and  clothing  for  their  troops, 
and  other  necessary  supplies,  unless  they  would  conform  to 
8uch  rules  as  the  President  thought  proper  to  prescribe. 
These  rules  I  could  not  conform  to  under  the  provisions  of 
the  contract  made  with  the  exporting  and  importing  com- 
pany without  heavy  loss  to  the  State.  As  1  was  thus  pro- 
hibited by  act  of  the  Confederate  Government  from  carry- 
ing out  the  contract,  I  could  not  insiet  upon  ihf  exclusive 
use  and  control  of  the  vessels.  Finding  the  Exportations 
of  the  State  forbidden  by  the  Lincoln  Blockade,  and  placed 
under  a  partial  blockade  by  our  own  Executive,  1  encoun- 
tered great  embarrassment  in  carrying  out  the  instructions 
of  the  legislature  in  this  particular.  If  the  Company  were 
compelled  to  submit  to  the  terms  prescribed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, and  give  up  one  half  the  storage  room  of  the  steamers 
chartered  by  the  State,  to  the  Confederacy,  they  were  un- 


IG 

willing  to  <liviclo  the  remaining  half  allowed  thetn  bj  the 
President  with  theState.  lU' allowing  the  coinp;uiy  to  use 
the  nairie  ofjtho  State  in  their  business  which  under  the  cir- 
eumstauces  I  felt  justitied  induing,  and  by  undertaking  to 
aid  theni  when  necessary  in  the  transportation  of  cotton  to 
the  coast,^I  was  enabled  to  get  thetn,  after  submitting  to 
the  terms  imposed  by  the  Confederate  (Government,  to 
carry  out  occasional  lots  for  the  State,  upon  the  vessels 
owned  by  them.  I  have  also  through  the  agency  of  Col.  A. 
Wilbur,  exported  some  upon, small  vessels  from  the  coast  of 
this  State.  I  havegiven  one  half  to  the  vessels  for  carrying 
out  the  other.  Owing  to  the  diHiculties  in  getting  letters 
from  the  other  side,  1  have  not  yet  received  statements  oC 
the  sales  with  the  net  amount  of  gold  on  deposit  to  the 
credit  of  the  State  in  England.  Should  the  sa'e  bills  and 
accounts  current  be  received  prior  to  your  adjournment 
I  will  immediateiy  lay  them  before  the  General  Assembly. 

About  three  hundred  bales  of  cotton  were  shipped  upon 
the  Little  Ada,  (a  steamer  chartered  by  the  State,)  upon 
the  coast  of  South  Carolina.  This  vessel  after  she  ha*! 
been  loaded  with  State  cotton,  was  detained  in  Port  be- 
tween two  and  three  months  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  supported  as  I  am  informed  by  a  military  or- 
der from  the  office  of  the  Adjutant  (Jeneral  in  Richmond,  t<» 
the  commardant  of  the  Post,  not  to  permit  her  to  clear. 
Thus  this  State  vessel  was  doubly  blockaded  and  threaten- 
ed by  Confederate  guns  in  the  harbor  and  by  Federal  guns 
out  side,  if  she  attempted  to  go  to  sea  with  State  cotton  to 
pay  for  blankets  to  be  imported  for  Georgia  troops  in  ser- 
vice who  have  great  need  of  theiu. 

A  complete  statement  of  the  amount  expended  by  the 
State  tor  the  purchase  of  cotton,  with  tlie  quantity  pur- 
chased under  the  appro[)riations,  and  the  average;  cost  per 
{>ound,  togetlier  withtiie  number  of  bales  exported  on  ac- 
count of  tlie  State,  and  the  number  now  in  store,  with  ac- 
count of  expenditures  for  storage,  freight,  insurance,  lighter- 
age, bagging,  rope,  com^uessing,  Sec,  il'.,  will  be  laid  befoi'c 
tlie  finance  connnittee  during  the  session.  They  are  not 
transmitted  herewith  because  reports  of  the  agents  with  ac- 
counts current  have  not  all  been  received. 

I  have  purchased  and  had  stored  on  one  of  the  Islands 
;)0,()0()  pairs  of  cottop  cards,  and  oO.OOU  soldiers  blankets.  I 
havealso  made  contracts  for  soldiers  clothing,  enough  I  trust 
with  what  are  on  hand  to  carry  the  troops  through  tlie 
winter  without  suflering.  j^Part  of  our  goods  were  lost  a  few 
days  since  near  Charleston  with  the  Florie,  but  I  hope  soon 
to  be  able  to  import  the  balance. 

I  have  lately  been  informed  by  Mr.  Trenholra  the  present 
liberal  minded  practical  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  that 
Tessels  owned  by  the  State,  will  be  permitted  to  clear  with- 


17 

out  interruption  by  the  Confederate    Government.     "Wex*- 
the  question  an  original  one,  lean  not  doubt  that  Mr.  Tres- 
holm  with  the  act  ofCbngress,  before  him    would    decftJe^ 
that  a  vessel  charfcred  by  a  State  has    the    same    right  to  » 
clearance,  as  no  substantial   distinction   can    be  drawn    be- 
tween the  right  of  a  State  to  export   upon    a    vessel  ounte^^ 
and  one  chartered  by  her,  which  is  a  temporary    ownershm.-. 
Nor  can  I  suppose  that  this  financial  officer  would    wiIlJti«T- 
ly  throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  States  in   making    Mh 
the  imjiortations  in  their  power.     Take  the  case  of  Georjv?a:, 
as  an  instance.     Her   sons  are    in    the    hold.     They    DetnJ 
blankets,  show,  clothing  anli  other  necessaries.     The    Cc«i- 
federate  Government  is  often  unable  to  furnish    these,    atnl 
they  suffer  for  them.     The  State  by  her    legislature    »aT^ 
her  sons  shall  not  sufter,  and  if  the    Confederate    Goreria- 
ment  can  not  supply  these  necessary  articles,  she  will.     S!:ye- 
appropriates  money  for  that  purpose,    and    directs   part  of 
her  surplus  productions  exported  to  pay  for  these  -artklte:*,, 
wiiich  she  directs  to  be  imported.     She  charters  her  vesseb.. 
purchases  cotton  with  her  own  money,   and    places    it    oa 
board,  to  be  carried  abroad  at  her  own  risk  and  expense,  tc-" 
purchase  that  she  may  import,  at  her  own   risk    and    cost,. 
the  articles  necessary  to  the  comfort  of  her  own  gallant  sons 
who  are  under  arms  for  her  defence.     She  asks  not  a  dolte- 
from  the  Confederate  Government,  and  even  offers   to    j>ay 
export  and  import  duties,  (which  the    Confederacy   has  mf 
right  to  demand)  o;i  all  she  sends  out  and  brings  in.     At  tijjs 
point  she  is  met  \/ith  a  refusal  to  permit  her  vessels  tocJf»r„. 
unless  she  will  submit  to  such  onerous  terms  as  the  Coiifet3!~ 
erate  Kxc-utive  may  choose  to  dictate.     Can  this  action  In: 
sustained  under  any  law  of  Congress,  or  upon  any  prinei]>k- 
of  enlightened  or  sound  policy  ?     Is  it  not   a   palpable    a;y- 
sumption  of  power,  and  an  utter  disregard  of  every   princi- 
ple   of  State    Rights   and    State   Sovereignty? 

I  trust  Conn;re8S  when  it  again  tissembles,  acting  upjoit» 
priuciples  of  enlightened  statesmanship,  will  not  only  rsv 
move  these  obstacles  by  enactments  too  plain  and  striugea'V 
to  be  disregarded,  but  that  they  will  invite  and  encourage 
the  several  States,  free  of  hindrance  or  duty,  to  import"  hUj 
the  arm}^  supplies  and  articles  of  absolute  necessity,  whi«b, 
the  means  at  their  command  may  enable  thein  to  tjo. 

Should  this  expectation  be  disappr^inted  lam  aalisfied  it 
would  be  sound  policy  on  the  part  of  th;5  State  to  purchase- 
several  vessels,  and  to  import  upon  them  such  su})plies  s?. 
raay  be  needed  by  our  troops,  and  for  Suite  uso.  The  Sisfct*- 
should  also  export  a  sufficient  quai.ity  of  cotton,  to  plafrj?  • 
gold  enough  upon  ihe  other  side,  to  enable  her  to  a.gmn 
equip  the  State  R^d  at  the  end  of  the  war.  In  common  wj^l; 
other  Southern  Roads,  its  iron  will  be  much  worn,  and  it/i'- 
rolling  stpck  nearly  run  down,  and  ifsoni;!  forecast  is  n^t^ 
2 


IS 

exercised,  the  State  will  not  have  the  means  at  her  command 
to  put  it  in  running  order.  This  may  be  provided  for  in  the 
manner  above  indicated  with  but  little  cost. 

If  the  legislature  will  appropriate^2, 000, 000  in  currency, 
and  authorize  me  to  purchase  vessels  and  cotton,  and  to 
draw  upon  the  cotton  on  the  other  side  when  necessary  to  « 
pay  for  them  or  to  purchase  more  cotton  for  shipment,  ifthc 
blockade  does  not  become  more  stringent,  with  the  State's 
tisual  good  luck  when  her  affairs  are  well  managed,  I  am 
firmly  impressed  with  the  belief  that  I  can  put  gold  enough 
to  her  credit  in  Europe  in  one  year  to  repair  the  Roa<l 
within  six  months  after  a  treaty  of  peace,  or  to  pay  a  large 
proportion  of  the  appropriations  of  the  current  year.  To 
accomplish  this  the  State  must  not  be  interrupted  by  Cot>- 
federate  interference.  The  exchange  which  the  cotton  ex- 
ported this  year  under  all  the  embarrassments  of  a  double 
blockade  places,  to  the  credit  of  the  State,  with  the  cotton 
now  in  store,  is  worth  nearly  double  the  whole  sum  expend- 
ed by  the  State  in  the  purchase  of  the  cotton. 

OUR  nXlNCIAL    CONDITION. 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  Reports  of  the  Treasurer  and 
Comptroller  General,  the  public  debt  of  Georgia,  indepen- 
dent of  the  ftppropriations  of  the  past  year  for  the  payment 
of  which  asufhcienttax  has  been  assessed,  and  of  the  change 
bills  issued  which  are  payable  in  Confederate  States  Treas- 
ury notes,  amounts  to  814,474,  270.  Of  this  the  bonded 
debt  is  SO, 086,250  of  which  $216,000  being  part  due  is 
drawing  no  interest.  The  remaining  debt  consists  of  $G,- 
!193,00U  in  Treasury  notes,  and  SI, 395, 000  in  Treasury 
Certiiicates  of  Deposit.  These  notes  and  certificates  bear 
110  interest  and  the  State  will  not  be  called  on  to  redeem 
them  in  specie  or  bonds  till  six  months  after  a  treaty  of 
peace. 

Of  the  above  $2,070,750  is  the  old  bonded  debt  which 
existed  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  incurred  chiefly 
on  account  of  the  construction  of  the  Western  and  Atlant- 
ic Railroad  which  is  the  property  of  the  State,  and  for 
stock  in  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Road. 

To  meet  her  liabilities  the  State  has  public  property 
consisting  of  the  Western  and  Atlantic  Railroad,  Bank 
stock,  and  Railroad  stock,  valued  before  the  depreciation  of 
the^currency  at  |S,S40, 124.68.  And  her  whole  taxable 
property  worth  over  $700,000,000  upon  a  specie  basis. 

The  debt  to  be  paid  in  Confederate  Treasury  notes  is 
$1,411,442  of  change  bills,  and  $3,095,000  payable  in  new 
issue  of  Confederate  Treasury  notes  25th  December  next, 
which  by  the  terms  of  the  contract  are  to  be  presented  for 
payment  by  25th  March  next,  or  the  State  is  not   bound  to 


19 

redeem  them,  but  they  are  to  be  receivable  in   payment  of 
public  dues  at  any  future  time. 

To  redeem  these  notes  and  the  undrawn  appropriations 
of  the  past  year,  there  is  »ow  in  the  Treasury  82,146,087 
and  a  balance  still  due  on  the  tax  digest,  about  sufficient  to 
cover  the  whole  amount.  But  as  some  of  the  counties 
■whows  d^ests  kave  been  returned  have  since  been  thrown 
■within  the  en«mic8  lines,  it  may  not  be  possible  if  the  ene- 
my is  not  driven  back,  to  collect  a  sufficient  sum  within 
the  time  to  pay  all  these  notes  when  presented. 

In  that  erentl  respectfully  recommend  that  provision  be 
made  for  the  Imuc  and  sale  of  seven  per  cent  bonds  running 
20  year»  with  semi-annual  coupons,  to  raise  the  Confede- 
rate currency  necessary  to  pay  the  debt,  which  it  is  believed 
would  command  a  high  premium,  or  that  new  State  notes 
be  issued  upon  the  same  terms  as  the  notes  to  be  redeemed 
payable  in  new  issue  of  Confederate  notes  one  year  after 
date,  which  could  be  exchanged  it  is  believed  for  Confed- 
erate notes  with  which  to  make  the  payment.  This  would 
enable  the  State  to  pay  the  debt  in  Confederate  notes  as 
soon  as  the  taxes  can  be  collected. 

I  also  recommend  that  the  appropriations  of  the  present 
fiscal  year  be  provided  for  by  the  issue  of  similar  notes  pay- 
able in  Confederate  Treasury  notes,  so  as  to  enable  the 
State  to  pay  the  appropriations  out  of  the  taxes  of  each 
year  when  collected,  and  that  sufficient  tax  be  assessed  to 
meet  all  the  appropriations  made.  A8  the  money  must  be 
used  during  the  year  an  J  the  taxes  of  each  year  are  paid 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  it  becomes  necessary  to 
issue  these  notes  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  Treasury  till 
the  taxes  can  be  collected. 

As  I  stated  in  a  former  message  no  prudent  man  will 
now  give  his  note  for  property  at  present  rates  payable  in 
specie  after  the  war  ;  nor  will  he  borrow  the  ,  present  cur- 
rency if  he  is  •bilged  to  use  it,  and  give  his  note  for  it  at 
par  payable  in  lawful  money  after  the  war,  but  he  will  sell 
property  even  if  it  exposes  him  to  much  inconvenience  and 
raise  the  currency  which  he  is  obliged  to  use.  If  no  mem- 
ber of  the  General  Assembly  and  no  prudent  constituent  of 
any  member  will  raise  currency  for  his  own  uses  and  give 
for  it  his  obligation  for  specie  after  the  war,  no  legislator 
should  do  it  for  the  State,  which  is  composed  of  the  mem- 
bers and  their  constituents.  If  ifc  becomes  necessary  to 
sell  some  portion  of  our  property  to  raise  the  currency  nec- 
essary te  meet  the  demands  upon  the  Treasury  we  should 
do  it  without  hesitation,  rather  than  incur  an  enormous 
debt  in  currency  to  be  paid  out  of  our  property  and  that  of 
our  posterity  in  future  at  specie  rates.  In  imposing  the 
necessary  taxes  the  law  should  make  provision  for  the  ex- 
emption of  the  property  of  the  poor  who  cannot  sell  prop- 


20 

erty  to  pay  a  heavy  taxandliro;  and  should  plact^  the 
burden  mainly  upon  the  wealth  of  the  State  where  it  can 
be  borne  witliout  causing  suIFeringor  want.  As  the  poor 
have  generally'  paid  their  part  of  the  cost  of  this  war  in 
military  service,  exposure,  fatigue  and  blood,  tlie  rich  who 
have  been  in  a  much  greater  degree  exempt  from  these 
should  meet  the  money  demands  of  the  Government. 

wi:.STi!:i:x  &  Atlantic  kailuoad. 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  Keport  of  the  Superintendaiit  of 
the  Westtirn  &  Atlantic  Railroad  the  net  earnings  of  the 
road  have  been  8 1,11 7, -522.  IS  far  the  fiscal  year. 

In  addition  to  this  about  halt  a  million  of  dollars  have 
been  made  to  this  date,  by  the  use  of  the  rolling  stock 
since  the  road  was  given  up  to  t>lie  enemy,  by  the  pur- 
chase of  cotton  mostly  in  localities  threatened  by  the  ene- 
my, which  was  carried  to  points  of  greater  safety  and  sold 
for  a  profit.  The  sales  had  not  been  made  nor  had  that 
sum  been  realized  at  the  date  of  the  Superiutendant's  re- 
port. Part  of  the  cotton  now  stored  will  soon  be  sold  and 
the  money  paid  into  the  Treasury  and  accounted  for  in  the 
next  report  of  the  Superintendent. 

"When  we  had  rolling  stock  which  could  be  spared  from 
Government  transportatiou  I  thought  tliis  a  legitimate  busi- 
ness. "When  the  road  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  ene- 
my and  our  engines  and  cars  sent  to  the  interior  of  the 
State,  I  found  it  necessary  to  keep  the  most  of  the  employ- 
ees of  the  Road  vriih  the  stock,  that  we  might  have  them 
at  command  in  case  we  recovered  tiie  road.  As  they  were 
generally  dependent  upon  their  wages  for  the  support  of 
their  families  it  was  necessary  to  keep  them  upon  such  pay 
as  would  accom[)lish  this  object. 

The  loss  of  our  engines  and  cars  has  been  heav}'.  The 
raid  under  General  Stonenian  destroyed  at  Gsrdon  and  near 
Griswoldville  seventeen  passenger  cars  and  thirty  freight 
cars  and  seriously  injured  four  engines.  At  the  evacua- 
tion of  Atlanta  three  of  our  engines  and  eighteen  cars  vvhich 
were  in  the  employment  of  the  Government  transporting 
ordnance  and  com missaiy  stores  v/ere  destroyinl  by  order 
of  Gen.  Hood,  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  The  families  of  part  of  the  employees  who  have 
been  driven  out  without  shelter  have  been  permitted  to  oc- 
cupy a  portion  of  the  freight  cars.  The  balance  of  the 
rolling  stock  when  not  engaged  carrying  cotton  has  been 
used  on  other  roads  to  carry  government  freights  for  the 
supply  of  tlie  army. 

The  Confederate  Government  owes  the  road,  as  will  be 
seen  by  the  Superintendent's  report  the  sum  of  $975,774.00, 
I  have  made  every  effort  in  my  power  to  collect  this  but 
have  not  been  successful.  I  trust  the  Government  will  not? 


21 

much  longer  delay  payment,  which  has  been  withheld  from 
time  to  time  under  various  pretexts. 

TAX  ON  BANKS. 

As  the  act  of  the  last  regular  session  imposed  a  tax  upon 
both  the  assets  and  capital  stock  of  the  different  Banks  of 
this  tState,  which  amounts  to  a  double  tax,  and  as  these  cor- 
porations have  not  the  advantages  over  the  other  pursuits 
in  the  State  which  they  had  before  the  war,  on  account  of 
the  suspension  of  their  regular  business  which  has  been 
absorbed  by  the  Confederate  Treasury;  and  as  they  exchang- 
ed large  amountsof  their  own  bills  with  the  Government 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war  for  its  notes  as  an  accom- 
modation, which  have  greatly  depreciated  in  their  hands;  I 
doubted  whether  it  was  the  intention  of  the  legislature  to 
make  this  discrimination  against  them.  I  therefore  direct- 
ed the  Comptroller  Gen  ral  to  suspend  the  collection  of  the 
tax  upon  their  Capital  Stock  and  collect  only  upon  their  as- 
sets till  your  pleasure  shall  be  known. 

TAX    ON  COTTON. 

As  the  law  now  stands  cotton  in  the  hands  of  all  persons 
other  than  producers  is  taxable,  but  the  cotton  held  by  the 
producer  in  his  gin-house  from  year  to  year  as  investment 
pays  no  tax.  lean  see  no  just  reason  for  this  discrimina- 
tion. If  the  planter  sells  his  cotton  and  investsthe  proceeds 
in"  bonds  or  other  property  they  are  taxable,  as  are  almost 
every  other  species  of  property,  but  if  he  considers  the  cot- 
ton a  better  investment  than  currency  bonds  or  other  prop- 
erty, and  holds  it  from  year  to  year,  it  is  exemptin  his  hands 
from  taxation,  while  all  other  things  of  like  value  are  taxed. 
If  A  purchases  cotton  which  he  holds  as  investment  and 
B  raises  cotton  which  he  holds  from  year  to  year  for  the 
same  purpose.  I  confess  my  inability  to  see  any  just  reason 
why  the  one  should  pay  tax  and  the  other  be  exempt. 

INEQUALITY  OF   TAX  RETURNS. 

I  call  your  special  attention  to  that  par  of  the  Report  of 
the  Comptroller  General  which  points  out  the  inequality  of 
the  tax  returns  from  the  different  counties  under  the  present 
law,  and  respectfully  recommend  the  passage  of  the  Bill 
suggested  by  him,  or  one  of  like  character,  to  remedy  this 
evil  and  prevent  future  inequality  and  injustice  between 
the  people  of  the  different  counties.  Each  should  bear  its 
just  part  of  the  public  burdens,  which  is  not  and  will  not  be 
the  case  under  the  present  law. 

MILITARY    APrROPlilATION. 

As  our  state  is  invaded  by  a  powerful,  enemy  audit  is 
impossible  to  foresee  the  exigencies  which  may  arise  within 
the  ensuing-year  to  require  the  use  of  our  military  force,  or 
the  extremities  to  which  we   may    be  driven,  I  r.ecommend 


the  appropriation  of  ten  millions   of  dollars   as  a   military 
fund  lor  the  political  year. 

RELIEF    OF  soldiers'  FAMILIES. 

I  recommend  the  appropriation  of  six  millions  of  dollars 
as  a  fund  for  the  relief  of  iiitligeut  soldiers'  families  and  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers,  and  indigent  exiles. 

While  hundreds  and  thousands  of  our  patriotic  fellow 
citizens  who  are  poor  and  without  means  to  support  their 
families  in  their  absence,  are  standing  as  a  bulwark,  between 
the  enemy  and  the  safety  and  property  of  the  wh»le  peo- 
ple whose  homes  have  not  been  overrun,  it  is  the  impera- 
tive duty  of  the  people  at  home  to  see  that  their  families  do 
not  suffer  for  the  necessaries  of  life.  I  have  constantly  ad- 
vocated this  policy  and  feel  the  impoitance  of  it  the  more 
as  the  sufferings  consequent  upon  the  scarcity  of  provisions 
are  increased  in  the  State.  The  wealth  and  property|of  the 
State  must  be  taxed  to  any  extent  necessary  to  prevent 
suffering  among  the  families  of  our  brave  defenders.  They 
have  freely  shed  their  blood  in  their  country's  service,  and 
those  who  have  money  must  be  compelled  to  part  with  as 
much  of  it  as  may  be  required  to  cheer  the  hearts  of  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  the  slain,  and  the  distressed  families 
of  those  still  upon  the  field.  Let  our  soldiers  know  that 
their  loved  ones  at  home  are  provided  for,  and  you  stimu- 
late them  to  greater  exertions  and  nerve  tlu-m  to  nobler 
deeds. 

The  law  shouldbe  so  amended  as  to  make  it  the  duty  of 
the  Inferior  Courts  of  the  respective  counties  to  make 
quarterly  reports  to  the  Comptroller  General  of  the  dis- 
bursement of  the  funds  received  by  them,  with  a  statement 
of  the  names  of  the  indigent  persons  to  whom  the  fund  is 
distributed  and  the  amount  received  by  each.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  courts  aie  not  held  by  the  present  law  to 
sufficient  accountability. 

The  law  should  provide  for  the  prompt  dismissal  of  the 
courts  from  the  trust,  and  the  appointment  of  other  agent* 
to  disburse  the  fund,  when  they  fail  to  make  legal  and  sat- 
isfactory returns,  or  to  discharge  any  other  of  the  duties 
imposed  upon  them  by  the  statute. 

Provision  should  also  be  made  to  enable  the  courts  of 
counties  containing  refugees  to  draw  enough  of  the  funds  of 
counties  behind  the  enemies' lines  to  afford  relief  to  such 
refugees  when  entitled,  without  the  certificate  of  the  court 
of  the  county  of  their  former  residence,  upon  other  satisfac- 
tory evidence  when  the  certificate  of  the  court  can  not  be 
obtained. 

CLOTHING   FUND. 

I  recomniend  the  appropriation  of  two  millions    of  dol- 


23 

lara  as  a  clothing  fund  to  be  used  for  the  supply  of  clothing 
to  Georgia  troops  in  service  when  they  cannot  get  what  is 
necessary  to  their  comfort  Irom  tiie  Confederate  Govern- 
ment- While  it  is  the  duty  of  that  Government  tn  supply 
all  its  troops  with  comfortable  clothing,  if  it  fails  to  dis- 
charge that  duty  from  inability  or  otht»rvvise,  Georgia 
should  see  that  her  sons  do  not  suffer  by  such  n<\i;jlect.  This 
fund  should  be  used  for  the  purchase  of  the  nctrssary  sup- 
ply either  in  the  Confederacy  or  in  foreign  markt^fM  as  cir- 
cumstances may  show  the  6ne  or  the  other  to  be  the  most 
practical   with  the  least  cost. 

PURCHASE   OF    PROVISIONS. 

The  conscript  law  having  been  extended  to  50  years  of 
age,  embraces  much  the  greater  portion  of  the  planters  of 
this  State.  Most  of  these  men  who  ma,ke  surplus  supplier 
of  provisions  have  received  details  from  military  service  o» 
condition  that  they  sell  to  the  Confederate  Government  all 
their  surplus  at  schedule  prices,  which  are  now  so  far  below 
market  value  as  to  afford  nat  even  the  appearance  of  just 
compensation.  In  this  way  the  Confederate  Government 
prohibits  the  citizens  of  Georgia  from  soiling  their  surplus 
•productions  to  their  own  State,  when  the  State  needs  these 
productions  and  is  ready  to  pay  just  compensation  for  them. 
This  makes  it  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  Quartermasters 
aad  Commissaries  of  the  State  to  procure  the  supplies  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  the  State  troops,  indigent  exiles,  and 
others  supported  by  the  State.  Under  the  order  of  Confed- 
erate officers  that  detailed  men  should  sell  only  to  Confed- 
erate Agents,  the  officers  of  the  State  during  the  past  summer 
were  driven  out  of  her  own  market?,  and  were  obliged  to  go 
to  our  sister  state  Alabama,  and  purchase  corn  and  importit 
at  a  very  heavy  expense  to  the  Treasury  to  save  the  suffer- 
ing poor  from  starvation. 

For  a  rhore  detailed  statement  of  the  difficulties  growing 
out  of  this  prohibition  you  are  respectfully  referred  to  the 
official  Reports  of  the  Quartermaster  General  and  the  Com- 
missary General. 

Some  of  the  other  States  have  enacted  laws  which  au- 
thorize the  State  officers  to  impress  when  in  the  hands  of 
producers  such  supplies  as  are  needed  for  State  use.  This 
in  my  opinion  is  the  only  mode  of  obviating  the  difficulty. 
Such  a  law  should  make  ample  provision  to  secure  Just 
compensation  to  the  owners  whose  property  may  be  taken. 
A  confederate  regulation  cannot  be  defended  upon  any 
principle  of  reason  or  justice  which  drives  a  State  out  of 
her  own  markets  for  the  purchase  of  her  necessary  sup- 
plies. 

THE  EXILES  DRIVEN  OUT  BY   THE  ENEMY. 

Your  attention  is  invited  to  the  depl»rable  condition  of 


24 

ihc  unfortunate  exiles,  wlio    have  bfon  driven  from  their 
hc»aie«  in   Athinta,  and  other  part^  of  the  8tat<s  by  the  sav- 
■a^e  cruelty  of  the  enemy.     The  inhumanity  of  the    treat- 
^voeat  to  which  these   unfortunate  sufierers  have  been  sub- 
jected, has  probably  no  parallel  in  modern  warfare,  and  but 
Sew  w  the    history  of  the   world.     Thousands   of  helpless 
women  and  children,  many  of  them  widows  and  orphans  of 
^iSir^vemen,  who  have  sacriliced  their  lives  in  the  defence  of 
■  .tl?e  liberties  -of  their  country,  have  been  driven  from  their 
'  homes,  with  but  little  of  their  clothing  and  furniture,  and 
Ihrawfl  out  and  exposed  upon  the     ground    to  all  sorts  of 
weather,  without  food,  house,  or  shelter. 

lE  have  had  the  best  means  in  my  power  provided  for 
i:heir  protection,  and  have  ordered  provisions  issued  to  those 
w]y&  were  entirely  destitute.  As  I  had  no  special  appropri- 
ation for  this  purpose,  I  have  used  the  Military  fund,  or  so 
ffaaeh  of  itascould  be  spared,  not  doubting  that  my  course 
"sraald  meet  your  a})prova!.  Tents  have  been  furnished  to 
^ick  as  could  not  get  shelter,  and  I  have  directed  that  log 
«i)l»ins  be  constructed,  at  a  suitable  locality,  by  the  Quarter- 
sna-ster  General,  who  has  taken  great  interest  in  their  be- 
-Sfedf,  for  their  comfort  during  the  winter.  The  Quarter- 
asvasterand  Commissary  .General  have  done  all  in  their  povv- 
<er,  with  the  means  at  their  command,  to  mitigate  the  suf- 
.feriags  of  this  most  unfortunate  class  of  our  fellow-citizens. 
I  recommend  that  proper  provision  be  made  by  law,  to  sup- 
ply tJiose  who  are  destitute,  with  shelter,  and  the  necessa-  . 
dsies  of  life,  #ill  they  can  provide  for  themselves. 

<JEOROIA  HOSPITAL  AND   RELIEF  ASSaCIATION. 

Your  attention  is  invited  to  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Board  of  Superintendents  of  the  Georgia  Hospital  and  Re- 
lief Association  This  association  is  composed  of  gentlemen 
s-af  the  highest  character  who  have  labored  faithfully  and 
-saceessfully  to  alleviate  the  suffering  of  our  sick  and  wound- 
^  soldiers.  Their  efforts  merit  the  thanks  of  our  whole 
'ptaple.  It  is  duubted  whether  any  other  association  with 
the  same  amount  of  means  at  command  has  accomplished  as 
anuch  good. 

I  respectfully  recommend  an  approproation  of  $500,000  to 
^  expeuded  by  the  association  as  heretofore,  during  the 
«a8uing   year. 

SCHOOL   rUND. 

-As  our  schools  cannot  be  conducted  with  success,  till  we 
'^ave*  vchange  in  the  condition  of  the  couutry,  1  recommend 
ihafc  the  school  fund,  for  the  future,  be  applied  to  the  sup- 
-yxwt  Off  the  widows  and  orphans  of  our  soldiers,  till  we  can 
'-again  revive  our  educational  interests,  with  reasonable 
^raspects  of  the  acconiplishment  of  good,  by  the  distribu- 


26 

tion  of  the  fund  among  the  counties,  for  ecluc«,tional  pur- 
poses. 

DESERTERS  AXD   STRAGGLERS   FROM   THE  ARMY. 

It  is  a  fact  that  requires  no  effert  at  concealment  since  the 
late  announcement  of  the  President,  in  his  speech  at  Macon, 
that  our  armies  have  been  weakened  to  an  alarming  extent 
by  desertion  and  str.iggling.  The  success  of  our  cause,  and 
the  safety  of  our  people,  require  prompt  action  to  remedy 
this  evil.  Many  of  these  men  have  fought  gallantly,  and 
have  left  their  commands,  under  circumstunces  the  most 
trying,  to  which  human  nature  can  be  exposed.  As  our  ar- 
mies have  retreated  and  left  large  sections  of  country  in 
possession  cf  the  enemy,  they  have  found  their  homes  and 
their  families  thrown  behind  the  enemy's  lines,  where  the 
latter  are  subject,  not  only  to  insult  and  injury,  but  to 
great  suffering,  for  the  necessaries  of  life.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, their  sympathy  and  care,  for  their  families,  tri- 
umphed over  their  [)atriotism  and  sense  of  duty,  and  in  an 
unfortunate  hour  they  yielded  to  their  feelings,  laid  down 
their  arms  and  abandoned  their  colors. 

A  strong  appeal  should  be  made  to  these  men  to  return  to 
their  companies,  and  a  free  pardon  should  be  extended  to 
each  one  who  will  do  so.  This  is  already  ofTered  to  them  by 
Gen.  Beauregard, and  Gen.  Hood  audi  have  reason  to  believe 
wouldHoe  granted  by  the  General  in  command  of  each  of  the 
Military  Departments.  All  who  refuse  to  accept  the  par- 
don, and  return,  should  be  arrested,  and  sent  forward  wnth 
the   least  possible  delay. 

The  civil  ofTicers  of  the  State,  in  their  respective  coun- 
ties, with  the  aid  of  the  Military  oflicers,  when  at  home,  and 
the  patrol  of  each  county,  is  believed  to  be  the  most  eflec- 
tive,  for  the  arrest  and  return,  of  deserters  and  stragglers, 
if  placed  by  the  laws  of  the  respective  States,  under  proper 
legal  obligations,  to  act  in  thiscapa(;ity.  These  officers,  by 
the  Constitution  of  the  country  and  laws  of  the  States,  and 
of  thii  Confederate  States,  are  exempt  from  Confederate 
conscription,  and  should  be  required  in  consideration  of  the 
exemption  extended  to  them,  to  keep  all  deserters  and  strag- 
glers out  of  their  counties,  when  not  overrun  by  the  enemy. 

To  compel  the  civil  officers  to  act,  as  many  of  them  are 
not  inclined  to  do  so,  I  recommend  the  passage  of  alaw,  au- 
thorizing the  Governor  to  turn  over  the  civil  officers  of  any 
county,  or  any  portion  of  them  to  conscription,  when  they 
refuse  to  act  or  to  obey  orders,  for  the  apprehension  of  strag- 
glers and  deserters,  from  State  or  Confederate  service,  and 
if  they  cannot  be  turned  over  to  conscription  from  age  or 
otherwise,  that  they  be  subject  to  Militia  duty,  and  to  trial 
b}'  court  martial,  for  neglect  of  duty  or  refusal  to  obey  or- 
ders.    And  that  all   necessary  penal  sanctions  be  added,  to 


'2G 

compel  the  discharge  of  this  duty.  Proper  provision  should 
he  made,  by  the  Confederate  authorities,  to  receive  the  dc- 
xerters  at  convenient  points,  not  too  remote  from  any  part 
of  the  State,  and  to  pay  jail  fees  and  other  necessary  expen- 
ses promptly.  The  want  of  proper  regulations,  in  this  par- 
ticular, deters  many  civil  othcers,  who  would  he  willing  to 
act,  from  making  arrests,  as  they  have  not  money  to  spare, 
to  pay  the  expenses,  and  do  not  know  to  whom  or  where 
they  should  deliver  the  persons  arrested. 

While  it  is  the  duty  of  the  States  to  make  provision  to 
compel  deserters  and  persons  absent  without  leave,  to  re- 
turn to  their  commands,  an  imperative  obligation  rests  up- 
on them  to  make  such  provision  for  the  families  of  the  needy 
as  will  secure  them  from  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  io 
the  absence  of  their  husbands  and  fathers.  Whatever  tax 
upon  the  wealth  of  each  State,  may  be  necessary  for  this 
purpose,  should  be  assessed  by  legislators  without  hesita- 
tion, and  paid  by  property  holders  without  complaint. 

ROBnER  BANDS  OF  DESERTERS  IND    STAGGLINQ  CAVALRY. 

It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  bands  of  deserters 
from  our  armies,  and  sniall  bodies  of  cavalry  belonging 
to  the  Confederate  service  are  constantly  robbing  and  plun- 
dering our  people  of  their  stock,  provisions  and  other 
property.  This  is  generally  done  by  these  robber  ^ands 
under  pretext  of  exercising  the  power  of  impressment,  in 
the  name  of  the  Government  or  of  some  General,  who  not 
only  knows  nothing  of  their  conduct  but  disapproves  and 
condemns  it.  They  go  armed  and  take  what  they  please 
by  intimidation  and  force,  having  regard  to  neither  age, 
sex  nor  condition.  The  are  not  amenable  to  any  civil  .pro- 
cess as  there  is  not  generally  sufficient  force  at  home  to  ar- 
rest them,  and  they  pass  on  and  cannot  in  future  be  iden- 
tified. If  arrested  and  committed  to  prison  they  will  aid 
each  other  to  escape  by  force  if  necessary.  They  arc  law- 
less banditti  and  should  be  so  treated. 

I  therefore  recommend  the  passage  of  an  act  declaring 
all  such  outlaws,  and  authoring  any  citizen  or  asgociatiou 
of  citizens  whom  they  may  attempt  to  rob,  to  shoot  them 
down  or  slay  them  in  any  other  way  in  their  power,  and  to 
band  together  and  follow  them  when  they  have  committed 
a  robbery  in  any  neighborhood  and  slay  them  wherever 
found.  This  is  the  only  protection  left  our  people  at  home 
against  the  depredations  of  these  incorrigible  thieves. 

RANK  OK  THE  QUARTESMASTEH  AND  COMMISSARY  GENERAL. 

The  gentlemen  who  fill  these  positions  have  labored  in- 
cessantly and  faithfully  to  serve  the  State  and  promote  the 
public  interest.  I  feel  quite  sure  no  two  better  officers 
fill  similar  places  in  any  State  in  the  Confederacy. 


27 

The  Code  only  gives  them  the  rank  of  Lieut.  Colonel  and 
allows  the  Governor  no  discretion  in  raising  their  rank  no 
matter  how  deserving  they  may  be  of  promotion.  As  I 
know  of  no  other  State  which  has  failed  to  give  higher 
rank  to  officers  in  these  positions,  I  respectfully  recommend 
as  an  act  of  justice  that  their  rank  be  raised  to  that  of  Brig- 
adier General. 

GEORGIA    iMILITARY   INSTITUTE. 

Upon  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  in  the  direction  of  Mari- 
etta, I  directed  the  Superintendent,  Professors  commanding^ 
and  Cadets  of  the  Georgia  Military  Institute,  to  report  to 
the  Military  commander  for  orders,  and  to  aid  in  the  de- 
fence of  Atlanta,  or  such  other  points  as  they  might  be  as- 
signed to.  The  order  was  obeyed  with  promptness  and 
cheerfulness,  and  they  were,  for  a  time,  placed  at  the  bridge 
at  West  Point,  then  at  a  position-on  the  River  in  front  of  At- 
lanta, and  finally  in  the  trenches.  In  every  position,  they 
acted  with  coolness  and  courage,  and  won  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  their  commanders.  Finally,  when  it  became 
necessary  to  place  troops  at  Milledgeville,  for  the  defence 
of  the  Capitol,  against  the  raids  ot  the  enemy,  I  ordered 
them  to  this  place,  where  they  are  covered  with  tents,  enga- 
ged in  study  part  of  each  day,  and  the  balance  of  the  time 
attending  to  their  duties  as  a  battalion  of  troops.  I  have 
ordered  them  supplied  with  provisions  by  the  Commissary^ 
while  engaged  in  this  service,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  pay 
the  Professors  out  of  the  Military  fund,  or  to  make  a  specials 
appropriation  for  that  purpose. 

STATE   LINE. 

The  two  Regiments  of  the  State  Line  have  greatly  distin- 
guished themselves,  for  cool  courage  and  intrepid  valor  upou 
the  battle-field,  and  have  rendered  important  service  in  the 
defence  of  the  State.  The  ranks  of  these  gallant  Regimentt 
have  been  decimated,  and  they  are  now  greatly  reduced.  In 
the  short  period  from  the  time  they  reported  to  General 
Johnston  at  the  front,  till  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  they  lost  upon, 
the  battle-field  nearly  600  men,  many  of  them  as  gallant  a»^ 
any  who  have  bled  in  freedom's  cause.  For  a  more  detail- 
ed account  of  their  services  and  losses,  you  are  referred  to- 
the  able  report  of  the  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General  of  the- 
State. 

THE    MILITIA. 

The  report  of  the  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General  will 
afford  all  necessary  information,  connected  with  the  organ- 
kation  of  the  Militia,  Which  would  have  been  a  most  thor- 
ough and  efficient  one,  but  for  the  interruption  growing  out 
of  the  Conscript  Acts  since  their  organization,  and  would 


28 

have  enabled  the  State  to  bring  iuto  the  field,  for  her  own 
defence,  when  Athinta  was  threatened,  a  force  of  some  30-, 
000  men,  after  making  all  reasonable  allowance  for  disabili- 
ty, &c. 

Notwithstanding  the  diOiculties  with  which  the  State  au- 
thorities have  had  to  contend,  about  10,000  of  the  reserve 
Militia  were  armed  and  sent  to  the  front,  to  aid  in  the  de- 
fence of  Atlanta,  and  other  important  points  in  the  State. 
No  troops  in  the  service  discharged  their  duty  more  nobly 
and  faithfully.  They  received  the  commendation  of  Gener- 
al Johnston,  General  Hoed,  and  their  immediate  con)mand- 
er  Major  General  Smith,  for  their  gallantry  and  good  con- 
duct upon  the  battle-field.  When  Atlanta  fell  they  held 
the  post  of  honor,  consiituting  the  rear  guard,  which  brought 
off  the  reserve  artillery  of  General  Hood's  army.  After 
they  I'.ad  been  ordered  back  to  Grilhn  they  were  furlough- 
ed  for  30  days,  and  have  again  assembled  under  their  gallant 
leader,  and  are  in  the  right  place  nobly  defending  the  soil 
of  their  State. 

In  the  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States  each  State 
has  reserved  the  right  to  keep  troops  in  time  of  War,  when 
actually  invaded,  as  Georgia  now  is.  Our  fathers  who  form- 
ed the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  from  which  we 
have  taken  this  provision  of  our  present  Constitution,  fore- 
saw that  no  State  could  part  with  this  right  without  an 
unconditional  surrender  of  her  sovereignty,  which  they  were 
careful  to  provide  against.  The  right  of  the  Confederate 
States,  if  we  admit  the  power  of  conscription,  and  of  the 
State  to  raise  troops,  is  mutual  and  concurrent.  Each,  in 
that  case,  has  the  same  right  in  war  when  the  State  is  inva- 
ded, to  enlist  troops  into  its  service,  and  neither  has  the 
right  to  take  them  out  of  the  custody  of  the  other,  when 
regularly  received  into  its  military  service.  This  does  n  jt 
of  course  admit  the  right  of  the  Confederate  Government 
to  enrol  or  interfere,  with  the  officers,  or  necessary  agents, 
of  the  State  government. 

As  the  present  organization  of  reserve  Militia  is  the  only 
remaining  force  left  to  the  State,  she  should,  under  no  cir- 
cumstances, turn  them  over  to  the  unlimited  control  of  the 
Confederate  Government,  or  any  other  power.  But  she 
should  retain  the  control  over  them  that  she  may  send  them 
to  the  field,  when  the  Militaiy  exigencies  require  it,  and 
withdraw  them  at  proper  intervals,  when  her  agricultural, 
and  other  material  interests,  imperatively  demand  it 

I  turned  over  the  organization  first  to  General  Johnston, 
then  to  General  Hood,  and  now  to  General  Beauregard, 
giving  each  the  absolute  command  and  control  of  the  force, 
reserving  only  the  right  to  withdraw  it  from  their  com- 
mand, when,  in  my  judgment,  the  safety  of  the  State  no 
longer  required  it  in  the  fiel(J.     This   right  will,  of  course, 


be  exercised  with  due  caution,  after  free  conference  with  the 
commanding  General,  as  was  the  case  when  I  granted  the 
thirty  days  furlough,  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta.  This.euabled 
the  troops  to  save  a  very  importtint  crop  of  the  State,  much 
of  which  would  otherwise  have  been  lost,  and  caused  no 
embarrassment  to  General  Hood,  in  the  execution  of  his 
plans. 

CONVENTION  OF  OOVERNORS. 

I  transmit,  herewith,  a  copy  of  Resolutions,  adopted  by 
the  Governor's  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Caroli- 
na, Georgia,  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  convened  in  Augus- 
ta, on  Monday,  the  17th  of  October  last,  and  respectfully 
recommend  the  enactment  of  such  laws  as  are  nec-essary  to 
carry  these  resolutior)S  into  practical  effect,  so  far  as  they 
contemplate  action  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  respective 
States.  I  also  request  the  exercise  of  your  legislative  influ- 
ence ro  induce  Congress  to  carry  out  such  portions  of  the 
recommendations  as  are  addressed  to  that  body.  It  is  prop- 
er, in  this  connection,  for  me  to  remark,  that  I  do  not  wish 
to  be  understood  by  either  of  said  resolutJous,  that  I  advo- 
cate the  policy,  in  the  present  condition  of  our  affairs,  of 
arming  our  slaves.  I  do  however  advocate  the  use  of  them 
as  teamsters,  cooks,  hospital  servants,  and  in  every  other 
menial  capacity,  in  which  their  services  can  be  made  useful, 
or  in  which  they  can  relieve  freemen  from  such  pursuits  that 
they  may  take  up  arms. 

CONCLUSION. 

In  conclusion  I  earnestly  invoke  the  blessings  of  Almighty 
God  upon  your  deliberations  ;  and  humbly  pray  that  Re 
will  endow  you  with  wisdom  from  above,  and  will  guide 
and  direct  all  your  councils,  till  they  result  in  the  adoption 
of  measures,  and  the  enactment  of  laws,  which,  while  they 
strengthen  our  forces,  and  give  victory  to  our  arms,  will 
lead  to  wise  and  just  negotiatioRS,  which  may  stop  the  war, 
with  all  its  horrors,  and  secure  the  independence  of  the 
Confederacy,  with  the  rights  and  sovereignty  of  the  States 
unimpaired,  thereby  enabling  us  to  maintain,  to  the  latest 
generation,  the  inestimable  blessijigs  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  protected  by  adequate  Cor.stitutional  guarantees. 

JOSEPH  E.  BROWN. 


n- 


-•?V 


Hollinger 

pH8.5 

Mill  Run  F3-1 955 


